Market Plummets, Experts Say It's Now Merely Overvalued

The recent unpleasantness on the financial exchanges, which saw the S&P 500 descend by a whole percentage point and the Dow Jones Industrial Average not far behind, has led to some truly comforting analyses. Indeed, the Nasdaq Composite's nearly 2% dip yesterday merely signifies that, rather than being "catastrophically overvalued," the market has now achieved the more respectable status of "merely overvalued." What a relief for investors, knowing their assets are still precariously high, just marginally less so than last week.

One can almost hear the sighs of gratitude from analysts, who, after months of cheerfully ignoring gravity, can now confidently declare that the fundamentals – whatever those are this week – are still wildly divorced from reality, albeit to a slightly smaller degree. It appears the collective financial consciousness has simply re-calibrated its definition of "sustainable," much like how one adjusts to ever-increasing airline baggage fees. The glass, it seems, is not half-empty, but simply still overflowing with Champagne that's lost some of its fizz.